#like i loved kh3 *vanilla*

[nyctoheart]

BTW if you have followed me during this time of KH news/material drought, I need you to know upfront that I do post long ravings and wonderings about KH story and lore LMAO.

[kayzero]

“Need another reason why Marluxia fits in perfectly [in Kingdom of Corona]? How about the fact that he kept Naminé locked away in a single room in order to abuse her powers, the same exact way Mother Gothel did to Rapunzel?

And now the sort of protection that Marluxia suggests for Rapunzel aligns exactly with Mother Gothel’s goals.”

—“Kingdom Hearts 3 Is Great and I Will Die On That Hill” (https://youtu.be/pytjUj-ciJw)

[turtersblade]

RESIDENT EVIL 2 + 3 (Remakes)

Finished December 31 and January 1 Respectively

I've been too lazy to write this up but its finally here. I originally tried RE2 back in 2022 but it just didn't hit. I felt annoyed and meh about the whole thing, but I knew there was something there I really liked. So I decided finally to just play on easy mode as a last resort. And honestly? I loved it. RE2 is so good. I understand how it was nominated for Game of the Year in 2019, and it fully deserved it. It could actually be my favorite game from 2019, it just depends if you count vanilla KH3 or you count it's updates and DLC.

It's got elements of Metroid, which I love. I just ran around clearing out every item from most rooms, watching the map go from red to blue. I really liked the characters too, especially Leon. Leon is just so stupid. I kept ironically saying "Why didn't Leon do [thing], is he stupid?", but then I get to the Claire route, and before I can finish saying that for Claire, she actually did the logical thing, multiple times. I love that Leon is seemingly canonically stupid.

RE3 on the other hand, its interesting. I understand now why it has the reputation it has. While I understand all of that, I got this game for like $15 two years ago, so I don't really feel cheated. I had a fun time with this! It had improved movement over RE2 which made it feel good to play. Either way, its peak because it has her:

[atomic-taco-muffin]

Young!Xehanort NSFW Alphabet

Request: I would love to have an NSFW alphabet with young Xehanort.

Warnings: What the title says

Rating: NSFW under the cut

(hehehehe! Dancy boi)

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Okay, so if we’re talking about Dark Road Xeha, then his aftercare is super sweet. He’s getting you all the snacks you want, giving you the most amazing bath, anything you want. 

But if we’re talking about DDD/KH3 Xeha, then the most you’re gonna get is a kiss and some water. That’s it

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

On him, he loves his biceps. He has worked SO hard to get those and loves feeling you dig your nails into them. 

On you, he’s an ass and titty man. Doesn’t matter if they’re small or big, he loves the ass and the tits. 

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

His cum is kind of thin and milky. But, there is a lot. He does prefer to cum outside of you but if you’re on the pill or he’s wearing a condom then he’s fine with cumming inside. 

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He secretly wants to wear a maid’s dress and do anything you tell him to do. But his ego will cover that up. There’s nothing to be ashamed about, Xeha. I know Era would love to see you in it. 

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He’s sort of experienced but is still learning different kinks and stuff. He’s really good at the foreplay part but not so much at the actual sex part. 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

His go to position is the traditional missionary. Although sometimes, he’ll force you into a mating press and you can tell what happens from there. 

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Dark Road Xeha, loves jokes. Makes them all the time. Loves hearing new ones (thank you Era) but DDD/KH3 Xeha, no jokes. None at all. Make one joke and you’re dead. Have fun 

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

His hair is a dark grey color (about the same color as a thunder cloud) and he tries to stay as groomed as possible. Again, wearing tight leather pants is not so comfortable on the pubic area. 

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Dark Road Xeha is SUPER romantic! I’m talking rose petals on the bed, candles everywhere, and champagne. He’ll even have a romantic bath ready (again thank you Era) 

But DDD/KH3 Xeha is not so romantic. He tries but it doesn’t really show. 

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Both Dark Road and DDD/KH3 Xeha jerks off a lot! Like, a lot a lot. And they do it everywhere. Library, check. Bedroom, check. You get the idea. 

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Dark Road Xeha is super vanilla while DDD/KH3 Xeha is so kinky!

Here’s a short list:

Breeding kink

Master/pet play

Collaring

Wax play

Shibari

Impact play

Brat taming 

Degradation 

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Dark Road Xeha would want to do it in the bedroom most of the time. While the other Xeha would do it EVERYWHERE! 

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

When you wear something of his. Whether it’s his shirt, his coat, just anything that belongs to him. He loves how it looks on you

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Again, Dark Road Xeha is super vanilla nad never wants to do anything to hurt you. While the other Xeha is possessive and will not allow any threesomes (with the exception of Era) 

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Both love being in between your soft thighs. But DDD/KH3 Xeha LOVES to see you choke on his fat cock. He loves to see your begging eyes while you’re sucking him off. 

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Dark Road Xeha would go slow and if you ask him to go faster, then he will. But the other Xeha will go so rough and fast, that you go dumb within the first few seconds. 

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Dark Road Xeha doesn’t really like quickies. In fact, he’s never heard of them. Again, he’s super vanilla. Meanwhile, the other Xeha LOVES them. He will always have one before he goes on a mission, during a mission, and after a mission. 

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Dark Road Xeha is a bit too scared to take some risks. He’s open to experimenting though. But just positions. He’s not ready for the kinks yet. But the other Xeha takes so many risks. You almost get caught every day. 

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Dark Road Xeha can last for up to two rounds before feeling overstimulated while the other Xeha can last for up to five rounds. Good luck honey. 

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

The most you’re gonna get out of Dark Road Xeha is a vibrator. That’s it. That’s how vanilla he is. But the other Xeha has a whole fucking collection of toys. From vibrators to whips. There’s so many toys. 

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Dark Road Xeha actually likes to be teased. But just a little. He just wants to show you how much he loves you. But the other Xeha will tease you till your crying and begging. He’s so mean

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Dark Road Xeha will make some moans and whimpers while the other Xeha will growl, grunt, moan, just anything that gives off the mean dom vibe. 

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

One time, Era walked in on you and Xeha doing it and it led to a very interesting threesome. Maybe you did it again. Maybe you didn’t. The world will never know.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Dark Road Xeha is about 7 inches with a slightly fat girth. He’s also uncircumcised. 

While the other Xeha is about 9 inches with a fat girth and circumcised. 

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Surprisingly, they have a steady sex drive. More Dark Road Xeha but still. DDD/KH3 Xeha will only do all that teasing, mean shit when he’s stressed and when someone pissed him off 

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Dark Road Xeha will make sure that you’re comfy and already asleep before he falls asleep himself. 

While the other Xeha will fall asleep right afterwards. You can cuddle, just be very quiet and don’t move too much. 

[palizinhas]

What Your Favorite KH Ship Says About You

based off the Eldena Doubleca5t videos

Soriku: Looking back on your childhood, you can pinpoint Kingdom Hearts as the beginning of your addiction to Rivals to Enemies to Lovers

Sokai: You’re a firm believer in keeping things canon and keeping things wholesome

Rikai: Any interest you have in keeping things canon is outweighted by your interest in edgy boys

Sorikai: Your interest in making difficult decisions is heavily outweighted by your need to make all parties in a love triangle happy

Akuroku: I could give you the benefit of the doubt and say you liked it as a child and have fond memories of fanfics about the pairing but, really, I should just hit you with the FBI OPEN UP

Akusai: You’re always a slut for divorced couples who still love each other

Terraqua: You are a firm believer in Men! Getting! Pegged!

Kaixi: You have written an essay about how, by having Sora’s memories, Xion probably had a crush on Kairi

Replinami: You have written two essays about how much Repliku’s sacrifice in kh3 was unnecessary

Aqualarx: You have written several essays about your lesbian Aqua headcanon

Larxel: You are heterosexual

Rokushi: You get angry whenever people make jokes about this ship being selfcest

Rokunami: You get angry whenever people make jokes about this ship being incest

Rikunami: You just wanted good things for Naminé, and really, who wouldn’t?

Namixi: You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of shared trauma

Venvan: This is just the same joke as rokushi, but you are also angry when people say a relationship between them would be abusive

Xehaqus: You would have shipped akusai, but you didn’t think they were tragic enough

Strifehart: You were really upset when vanilla kh3 had no Final Fantasy characters

Zemyx: You are a firm believer in ignoring the main cast in favor of good-looking side characters

Rikuvani: Your addiction to edgy boys got so bad that one day you were like “hey you know what’s better than one edgy boy? Two edgy boys”

Strelayer: You really like relationships that are just so sad, like if you cry every time

Ephelayer: You have debated people about how the chi story is good, actually

Skulayer: This is just the same joke as ephelayer, but you like Skuld more

Skulmerayer: You are really upset Player is barely involved in the main plot of Union Cross

Dongoof: You just really enjoy that they are basically Sora’s dads

[nopeferatu]

For the shipping asks: 4 and 7? :)

// @fireandiceland

shipping ask meme!

4. What is/are your favorite trope(s)?

I'm not quite sure what 'trope' refers to...ok so like in terms of shipping character dynamic, my all time favorite dynamic is literal sunshine extrovert dumbass x tsundere introvert little bitch.

In terms of like trope tropes then I think one of my favorites is "people who used to be close when they were younger, who are forced apart because of some big event and they slowly have to work to rekindle that dynamic they had before (and one or both parties realize along the way that they held romantic feelings all along for the other)

If I look back at USUK, AkuSai/LeaIsa from the kingdom hearts franchise and Stucky from the mcu, three of my fave ships of all time, then literally all those ships fit those exact descriptions in some way or another lol

7. Are most of your ships “pure” or “problematic”?

Tbh? With the shifting definitions of what fandom at large deems to be "problematic" and "pure" I'm not even sure?? USUK was one of the most basic boring vanilla ships of the fandom back in the early 2010s bc of how widespread and like. Idk obviously it was? Like I remember other niches of the fandom kinda dismissed you as basic for liking it if they werent invested Ame or England themselves, but then everything changed when I came back to fandom after high school and now its seen as like. a blight on the fandom so idk.

AkuSai was a bit more contended upon back when I was rly involved in the KH fandom in 2010-2011 because in the games the charas drifted rly far apart and kinda became enemies almost, and Saïx was considered a villain/henchman type character in the series, so I remember coming across a few posts that were like "u cant ship them!! they hate each other!! they fought!!! thats an abusive dynamic!!!!!" but like...when kh3 came out and those charas reconciled their differences and the bad one became a good guy again, i think there was a massive boom of shippers for them so. i dunno i dont think its considered "problematic" anymore?

Idk I personally don't consider myself to be a problematic shipper at all lol like. Others might label me as that on account of me liking usuk but I literally am the most vanilla shipper in the world, I don't like darkfic and dont like to think of my faves in darkfic tropes/scenarios and all I rly care abt is sweet fluff and unrequited love angst lol

[mrslittletall]

Alright, then! My thoughts on Kingdom Hearts III. First a disclaimer! I haven't gotten the DLC yet. I heard it pretty much transforms the game into a Final Mix version and I can't play it right again, I need a break first. So my thoughts are about the vanilla version. Let's get through my usual points: Graphics Graphics were absolutely fine. They were colourful and bright and smoothly animated. It helped that a lot of worlds were based on 3D animation now, so that the characters looked VERY naturally. To tell the truth, Hercules looked kinda unnatural in comparison. I liked all the models and the effects. I played the game on a PS5 though, so I don't know if slowdowns would have been a thing on the PS4, the game was smooth for me all the way through. I don't have any bad things to say about the graphics, but it also isn't something where I was in total awe. A solid 8/10 would I give to the graphics. Music Yoko Shinohanara at her best, really! I always loved the music in KH, but I felt that Yoko first needed to find her style and KH1 felt pretty safe with its music (still pretty good though). It were Chain of Memories and 2 were the style really got found. And the musical journey of hers culminate into KH3. Both cutscenes and world themes, fantastic. Battle themes, fantastic. But the best thing? REMIXES OF ALL THE SONGS OF THE OTHER TITLES!> And these remixes were absolute ear candy! I got an eargasm during the last part of the game, because the music was TOO good! So yeah, music gets a 10/10 from me. Gameplay The gameplay was similar to the precedessors. Attacking, magic, items, summons. It also had a lot of action commands that happened when you got enough combos or such. However, while the battle system flowed incredibly well and they reused the free flow system from 3DDD (though not quite as strong as in this game), some things felt amiss. KH2 had the forms for example. Birth by Sleep had command melding. In a sense, KH3 didn't manage to feel fresh and new, it was more same as the in the past. I always loved command melding, I would have loved to see this in a mainline KH title. The game played well enough though, I certainly had fun with it. Sora completed disregarded gravity here and it felt pretty free. I liked that you also now could have more than three members in the team, so Goofy and Donald didn't had to sit on the bench so much. That was a nice change. The areas also were a lot larger, so there was a lot to explore without bounds. Overall, a good experience but could have been better. 7/10 I think. Story and Lore ... Ok, time to speak about the elephant in the room. Why felt this game so RUSHED?! Didn't they had LOADS of time to finish it? I started positive. We would have our usual Disney Worlds, have fun there and then get the real story in the last few worlds. But... when I finished Olympus and saw the story there was finished I went "huh". So there wouldn't be second visits to the worlds? Hm, well, maybe we have more worlds to explore instead! Nope, it were even less! I think overall we had around seven worlds? I didn't count Twilight Town, because that is kind of a hub, a hub that barely needs to get used anyway. When we met Vanitas in Monstropolis I was looking forward to see Unversed enemies mixed in with the Heartless now, but no, after Monstropolis the Unversed were complete. There wasn't a single fight with an Organization XIII member in the Disney Worlds. And yes, all this did rain down in the story. While I am very glad that quite a few things got resolved, it was all squished into a one hour dungeon in the end instead of evolving naturally over the cause of the game. Am I satisfied with the story? Yes... and no... Maybe the DLC fixes it, I don't know. But the vanilla game really doesn't give you much. Also, why Verum Rex? What even is Verum Rex? My friend says it's Nomura's way to tell the players he wanted to work on FFXV instead, but I find it really really childish to let the players of another franchise suffer for it. Story gets a 5/10 in the

current state. Overall? Overall the game gets a 7/10 because it is absolutely solid and enjoyable, but there are too many "buts" or "that could have been better".

[akari-hope]

Honestly, I just want to bandwagon on calling you a nerd in your ask box. So, hey nerd, how would you recommend someone who’s intimidated by the scale of Kingdom Hearts get into the franchise?

i love people just going "hey nerd", good trend

and honestly, i'd say if you're interested, just start with the original kingdom hearts 1 and see how you feel about it. it's definitely a lot to take in, and not everyone wants more than the first game, which is fair! while i think it’s one of (if not the best) game series out there, it’s certainly a bit of an acquired taste, and all the different titles and seeming lack of coherent order can be super intimidating.

kh1 though is kind of free from all of that. obviously later titles add more to it, but the first kh had to stand on its own, and does so extremely well in my opinion. it has an extremely strong aesthetic, and its story strikes a good balance that’s uniquely its own brand of weird, but still approachable. if you fall in love with the first game, odds are the rest of the series will have something to offer you. but just the same, if you don’t end up liking it, no harm no foul.

some more detailed rambling about how you'd get your hands on it and what order the series should be played in under the cut.

unless you've still got a functional ps2, odds are you'll be picking up the 1.5 remix, which has kingdom hearts final mix, re:chain of memories, and a summary of 358/2 days. don't worry about the "final mix" and "re:" stuff - final mix is identical to vanilla kh1, just with some small additions. and re:com is just a ps2 remake of the original chain of memories, which was on the gameboy advance, but it covers the exact same story. the only part of the 1.5 remix i don't love is the fact that you can't play through 358/2 days, which is my personal favorite game in the series. but again, unless you have a ds or 3ds handy, that's the version of the game you're getting.

i think most platforms at this point have 1.5 for sale pretty cheap. think my japanese copy of 1.5 + 2.5 for ps4 was around $25? it's a good deal if you know you wanna play through all of what's available. i think ps3 is the only platform you can currently buy 1.5 and 2.5 individually on. if you’re playing on ps4 or xbox one, you’ll be getting the 1.5 + 2.5 combo. but again, they’re not too expensive in general and at least on ps they go on sale fairly often.

if you wanted a full list of the games in the order you should play, generally the order they're in on the 1.5, 2.5, and 2.8 remixes is pretty good! but for clarity, that's:

1) kingdom hearts 2) re:chain of memories 3) 358/2 days (will be a summary film, unless you can play the original ds game) 4) kingdom hearts 2 5) birth by sleep 6) re:coded (will be a summary film, unless you can play the original ds game) 7) dream drop distance 8) 0.2 a fragmentary passage 9) back cover (a short film summarizing lore from union x) 10) kingdom hearts 3

despite only 3 of them being numbered in a traditional order, none of the games are really spin offs or unnecessary. even the most recent addition, melody of memory, which is a RHYTHM GAME, has story-related content. but only the ones i listed are necessary to have a full grasp of kh3. the only one i’d really argue you could skip is re:coded, but even then you’d at least need to read a summary of the game. of course, that’s if you’re invested lol.

but yeah, my advice would be to just pick up kh1 and see how you feel first!

[kimium]

2, 7, 8, and 31 for the ask game!

(From this ask HERE.)

Thank you so much! I’m very excited to answer these. You picked some good ones!

2. What are your favourite colours and why?

My favourite colours are generally greens, blues, and purples. The reason why I like them is because when I started doing art I was really comfortable with cool tones. I found if you messed up with them it was easy to fix/ blend. I also really like yellow because you can blend it into greens for cooler tones or can use it for warmer tones.

Outside of art I really like mint green. I actually used to own a pair of headphones that colour. My mix master is also that tone.

7. What kind of weather do you like?

I love and adore hot weather. When I was living and working in Japan people warned me about their summers (which really are humid and sticky) but to everyone’s surprise (except mine) I was never really bothered by it. I like hot weather because 1) I’m Canadian and I’ve experienced far too much -40 Celsius + wind chill for Too Long in a Year so I view warm weather as a Treat. And 2) Summer brings a flair of Nostalgia for me and I’m a sucker for Nostalgia.

(Also I love the freedom summer gives with simply going outside?? Not having to bundle up?? Not having to carry all your Extra Clothing around?? Bless.)

8. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

In general I like both but if I had to pick one I’d say sunsets. This is largely influenced by Twilight Town in KH2 and KH3 which is one of my favourite original worlds in the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

31. What is your favourite scent?

My favourite scent is vanilla. Though I also really like lavender and sandalwood. 

[nyctoheart]

You've probably answered this before so I apologize but it is impossible to search for things on tumblr, and I'm curious of your opinion. If someone were to play the Kingdom Hearts series for the first time, when would you recommend they watch/play Union X and Dark Road, do you think they're best experienced before or after Kingdom Hearts III? They do a lot to setup the next part of the saga but they also (especially Dark Road) help Kingdom Hearts III's conclusion feel even more satisfying. Also, do you think Back Cover should be watched before or after Union X? Would love to hear your opinion on this, thanks!!

Hello! That's okay I love talking about this stuff anyway 🙈 These are my personal opinions:

BC before UX:

I personally think Chirithy's narration in BC does a good job of laying out the overall situation: the world being intact, and the relations between the MoM, the Foretellers, and the unions. And with BC being devoid of the many things UX brings in (Maleficent, Darkness, the lifeboat, the reveal of the traitor, etc), I think if you were to watch BC after, it would be frustratingly simple; where a 1st viewer might say "well where are all the darknesses? where's Skuld? how come they dont mention the lifeboat? why dont--" etc etc. I think to keep viewing BC as open minded as possible, I would watch it before UX. And it'll emphasize the impact of the Foretellers' demise in UX.

UX before KH3:

KH3's reports make a lot more sense knowing UX's story, and you might gasp with the epilogue's reveal or theorize the identity of Subject X. I think if you play KH3 before UX, you might gloss over AND completely forget a lot of the interesting lines in KH3's cutscenes and reports that reference it.

DR before (or after) KH3: (maybe depending on the player's ability to keep track of information):

When it comes to "before", I assume I'm in the vaaast minority with this opinion, but the more I think about it, the more I think so. I think DR would add a lot of good-ass emotional tension in KH3 with Xehanort, his childhood with Eraqus, the reason of his collecting wielders with the ancient legacy like Ventus, the child of destiny etc etc. And it would also be good for someone going into KH3 knowing that Xehanort is not, in fact, Player reincarnated LOL.

ON THE OTHER HAND: The thing about KH3 is that it already is tying many KH titles together, it's a heavy spaghetti game with a bunch of threads coming together. So I think DR, especially being so fresh in a new viewers mind, might take away from the impact of other characters from BbS or Days returning. Maybe not, but I think its possible. I would also say "DR ties too much into Missing Link to be put before KH3" but UX ties into ML just as much, if not more, than DR. So maybe that's not a good reason LOL.

The only other reason I would say play DR after KH3 is because Re:Mind has a cropped version of MoM's scene, so it might be less impactful in ReMind (assuming you play ReMind immediately after vanilla KH3). However, that scene in ReMind is so fucking vague, and DR's context makes it a lot more comprehendible IMO. So maybe that's another reason DR should be before KH3 LOL.

(I also have not seen DR's updated text yet so I apologize if that really impacts if it should be after KH3)

-----------------

those are my opinions, if you disagree you can take it up with my secretary or honestly reply to this post! I'm curious as to why, maybe there's a huge variable that I'm completely forgetting about...

[nadziejastar]

I do agree with the gist of the video. I played KH2 (and all the others) not too long ago. And most of the time spent in the Disney worlds felt unconnected to the larger story. It is a valid complaint. KH1 does a better job of making each world feel like it contributes to the main plot. BBS does a better job of making the worlds feel like they add to the individual characters’ development.

Personally, I think there were two big issue holding back KH2′s pacing in the Disney worlds. One was its scope. Back when vanilla KH2 first came out, there was no guarantee there would be more games. KH2′s story was written as if it could be the last one. This wasn’t the case with BBS, Days, KH3D, etc. All of those games were leading to KH3, so they weren’t as self-contained as KH2. KH2′s concern was resolving the loose ends of KH1 and Sora’s reunion with Riku.

There’s also the issue with Sora as the main character. He doesn’t develop too much. I’m fine with that, because he’s meant to be a pretty simple character. The main idea with Sora is that he can connect with everyone. But he’s not the most dynamic or interesting character. When you play as other characters like TAV, Roxas, Riku, etc., the plots in the Disney worlds often feel more interesting, because those characters change more along the way. I think the subsequent games in the Xehanort Saga did a pretty good job of retroactively connecting the Disney worlds in KH2 to the overarching story. Mainly because those games involved other characters besides Sora.

Olympus

For instance, Olympus. In KH2, it was pretty close to just a standard retelling of the movie with Sora resolving the conflict.

But, once the larger story was envisioned, Sora’s trip there had more relevance. The Wayfinder Trio now had a connection to Hercules.

When you go there in KH3, it’s connected to the main plot of Sora trying to unlock the power of waking. After this world, Sora adamantly says that he’ll be the one to save Aqua. That’s Ven’s heart inside of him talking. Ven’s heart was inside of Sora even in KH2. So, it has retroactive significance.

Agrabah

In KH2, this world feels like pretty standard filler. It’s just another place Sora stops to look for Riku, then he resolves the conflict, which was based on The Return of Jafar. It’s not bad. It just has nothing to do with Organization XIII and Sora doesn’t really develop there.

When Roxas goes there, the themes brought up offer him a lot more character development than with Sora. Roxas and Xion learn what a best friend is in this world, which has lasting effects on the main plot. The whole damn story is about the meaning of “best friends”.

Roxas’s trip there also provides Axel with character development.

The theme in Agrabah is that best friends are people who place your needs ahead of their own. They worry about you. 

Roxas passed out in Agrabah while he was worried about Axel.

Later, Xion passes out in a similar way. Roxas found it strange how Axel seemed so worried about Xion. This catches Axel off guard and he reassures Roxas that he worries because they are best friends. Roxas was unsure why Axel said it at that specific time, but he was happy.

On that day, Xion insisted that she tag along, even though Roxas wasn’t sure if she was ready. She was tired of feeling “useless” and relying on Roxas all the time.

When she passed out on the mission, she had a dream of Kairi giving Sora the lucky charm.

Kairi also felt useless. She wanted to tag along with Sora, but he wouldn’t let her. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t do anything and would just get in the way. They needed to separate because it was too dangerous for her to come along. But Sora said they’d still be together.

It’s pretty close to what Axel said when he was talking about best friends. When I read between the lines, I see a lost backstory concerning Axel’s past with his best friend. Lea didn’t want Isa to come along somewhere with him because it was too dangerous and he would have just gotten in the way. So, they had to separate like Sora and Kairi. This is what Axel was remembering on Day 75.

Isa was very worried about Lea, but he returned safely. He was very thankful to Lea for protecting him, and relieved that he was okay. Axel was remembering this on Day 96.

Isa wanted to show Lea his appreciation to Lea by fighting alongside him. He desperately wanted to be useful in some way. So, Lea reluctantly let him come, like Roxas did when he reluctantly allowed Xion to come. But something very bad happened. Lea was very worried about Isa and blamed himself. And this is what Axel was remembering on Day 193. It was deja vu. Which is why he was so mad at Saix.

Beast’s Castle

In KH2, the themes in the Beast’s Castle are very interesting. But they aren’t that connected to the main plot, or Sora’s character development. Xaldin tries to turn the Beast into a Heartless, then Sora saves the day and beats him. That’s about it.

But the themes in the world have a lot to do with Axel, so this world was included in Days.

If you read between the lines, you can tell that the theme of “love” was going to be very important to Axel.

He was a lot like the Beast. He had something he held very dear. Something he loved.

I don’t see why the story would be written like this if Axel didn’t have somebody he loved that was going to be important to his character arc.

It seemed like the story was hinting that he was in love with his best friend. And no, he was not in love with Roxas. The theme of love is important in general. Love is what allows you to use the power of waking. Days made it seem like Lea would have to use the power of waking on someone he loved. And it wasn’t Roxas.

KH3

KH3 gets criticized for its worlds feeling like filler, which I find sad. They do feel like filler and the pacing of the story is god awful.

But the worlds in KH3 actually were a lot more connected to the main plot than KH2′s worlds. At least in theory.

Monstropolis had an interesting connection to Vanitas’s return.

Almost all of them involved the power of love...

...and its ability to bring someone back to life.

In canon, this world seemed to be about the hunt for the black box, which is irrelevant to the plot of KH3. My theory is that the organization thought the Kraken was a potential candidate for a vessel because he could exist without a heart. Kinda like how the Beast was a candidate for the old Organization XIII. And that’s why Luxord was in the world looking for the chest with his heart.

Overall, I think the world choices in KH3 were excellent.

They all had a thematic connection to the story, even if it didn’t seem like it based on how it was written.

[destiny-islanders]

TL;DR: I adored it!

My thoughts are under the cut.

THE GOOD

The little details!!

Sora destroys an object in the world and someone comments on it

That cute little skipping hop Sora does to avoid running into his allies

Sora and co. sneezing in the cold or when fighting monsters that release pollen into the air

Little touches like the Herc and Phil action figures in Olympus and the wanted posters of Eugene in Corona

THROWBACKS TO PREVIOUS GAMES

I’m looking at you, Monster Sora!! I adore that they recreated his funny face from KH1

Honestly the depth of each world is ridiculous (in a good way.) I thought I explored each world thoroughly during my first visit, but I still missed a bunch! I kept finding secret pathways and little areas tucked away where I hadn’t noticed them the first time around.

The Disney stuff!!

Every single Disney world is full of fun and interesting interactions between the characters!!

This includes summons, too! I loved seeing Ariel and Sora dancing together during her link. ;v;

Tbh the game’s faithfulness to the movies felt so Extra sometimes hahaha

They didn’t have to recreate the entire Let it Go sequence but they did... they did that for us...

Gameplay is SO fun!! Honestly there’s so much to do that every battle can feel different depending on your play-style

Those graphics though

Sora’s never looked better

I love you pookie

Voice-acting is top-notch as always!

Yoko Shimomura at it again with that beautiful score!!

The minigames are actually really fun this time.

The Flantastic 7 were nowhere near as frustrating as Mushroom XIII. 

I didn’t mind replaying the minigames to get high scores for trophies!

Except for Verum Rex. 

Verum Rex I hate you.

Verum Rex you’re on my SHITLIST.

The story (for the most part)

I’m not gonna go too in-depth here because I feel like it could be its own post. But I was mostly satisfied with how everything went. Some things felt rushed, and a couple things didn’t make sense (I’m looking at you, Goatman). But KH3 left me feeling satisfied. I legitimately cried for like the last two hours of the game, no joke.

Getting the platinum trophy was FUN, not a CHORE. (Looking at you, BBS and CoM.) I’m thankful that the team was merciful this time haha!

AREAS TO BE IMPROVED

(Because there is gonna be a Final Mix y’know.)

Synthesis

The Synthesis Workshop not indicating which recipes you’ve already created is the most baffling oversight in our solar system. Literally the only way to keep track of what you’ve made was to check between the synthesis menu and Jiminy’s journal. I ended up creating a spreadsheet on my computer so I wouldn’t have to constantly menu-hop.

Save slots

There are only 9??? I like to create a save at the start of each world so that I can replay them whenever I want. But there aren’t currently enough save slots to do that. I’m so glad I had the foresight to give up one of my slots from a Disney world so that I can replay the Keyblade Graveyard whenever I want. Those boss fights are a lot of fun.

The difficulty

This was the easiest Kingdom Hearts I’ve ever played on Proud. (Easier than vanilla KH2.) I didn’t die once.

I still have a stock full of elixirs that I was saving for the secret boss I fought by accident.

I know they’re introducing a Critical mode, so this will be fixed! I’m just saying, with vanilla KH3, the hardest difficulty is a cakewalk.

The triangle button being used to interact with treasure chests and people... AND to summon Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

I know you can hit L2 to cycle through everything. But I forget sometimes.

I blinked and missed the entire 100 Acre Wood segment.

Seriously the game just made me feel sad and then that was it???

The minigames are literally carbon copies of each other oof

The story

There are some things that could stand to be explained, and probably will be in the Final Mix version if the Ultimania translations are accurate

Where did Xion come from?

Roxas???

Rikunort????

Where did Vexen and Demyx go???

The treatment of two characters in the endgame:

Kairi KingdomHearts

Xehanort Goatfucker

Sora doesn’t get a coat in Arendelle??? Fuck off????

You give the kid a pirate costume

You give him a gold tooth

But the magic doesn’t give him a coat when it’s below freezing??

@everyone stop telling me that it’s because Frozen takes place in the summer!! It’s still freezing!! 

There’s probably stuff to add to both sections, but those are my initial thoughts. I was happy with KH3 and can’t wait to see what the future of the series holds. :)

[tomboyjessie13]

When I do write rants about the things in a favorite series that I hate or just find annoying, that doesn’t mean I hate the series, I still love it regardless of what I find flawed or stupid.

I just want to clarify because for some reason: People on here seem to think that “hating a few things in X series” = “hating everything in X series as a whole”.

That’s not always true.

Here’s an example with me with “Kingdom Hearts”, and these are my personal opinions so don’t take it seriously: 

I think Terra and Kairi, among some of the other characters, deserve better than what they got even though they’re both an excellent fighters in BBS and Re:Mind, I’m disappointed in Aqua because of how she acts towards her peers, I hate the card battles in COM, I don’t care for Coded even though it has it’s moments, I’m annoyed by Sora’s idiocy in DDD despite it being my 2nd Favorite game, I wished Days was given a proper HD remake than a short movie even though I like some of the scenes, I’m a little irritated with Disney’s higher ups being extremely protective of their works to the point where some of the worlds in KH3 suffered, and I don’t really give a shit for the new Mobile game featuring Master Xehanort because he’s a unlikable and murderous asshole.

Despite some of the things I dislike or I’m annoyed by however, I still love series since my younger years, I love KH2 due to it being my first game in the series and having cool shit from final mix and memorable moments, music provided by Yoko Shimomura and Utada slaps, the Vanilla!OrgXIII is the best OrgXIII, Olympus in KH3 is beautiful and fun, I love the Disney characters owning the villains, the manga version of KH2 and Days are golden even though they’re Canon divergent, Xigbar, Demyx, and Xion are my favorite Nobodies with the first one being a rat bastard, I had fun on Re:Mind’s data greeting, and I think “Demyx Time” and the “Xemnas/Xigbar Report” comics are the best things to grace our fandom since it’s early years.

See what I mean? You can still be a fan of something while criticizing it and vice versa.

[rachelbethhines]

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 178

"Thicker than Water" Part One - Sonic the  Hedgehog #217

Finished KH3 and now I’m back with one of the best Bunnie stories ever written. 

The story opens up with Sonic and Bunnie throwing down. 

This is of course a bit of opening action to get the readers intrigued as we flashback to the events that led to this moment.  

Turns out the Sandblast Freedom Fighters sent out a call for help and, due to their past run-ins with them, Bunnie and Sonic were chosen to go. Though Bunnie’s not happy about it, as well she should be. 

If you recall back in issue 119, Bunnie was captured by Jack Rabbit, the leader of the Sandblasters, and forced to fight a bunch of Robians to the death. The events there and in this issue pretty much makes Jack the closest thing to a arch-rival she has in the pre-reboot. 

Soon Buunie and Sonic are separated when the Sandblasters “mistakenly” attacks them. 

This leads to Bunnie being “captured” by the local Dark Egg Legion chapter. And Sonic agrees to help the Sandblasters fight them in order to get her back. 

Meanwhile back with Bunnie we meet .....

Uncle Beauregard! 

Her uncle was first mentioned way back during the Mecha Sonic arc. It was at first just an off-color joke about the American Civil War, which Flynn has decided to turn into a bit of mythos for the comic. 

So according to the The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia, The Southern Baronies were a colony of the Kingdom of Acorn and most there-in resented the rule of the monarchy. There’s no details about how the Acorns treated the Baronies but given that Bo calls them “the oppressors” and the fact that King Max is a Grade-A-Jackass, one can assume that they wren’t always treated fairly. 

Also according to Flynn, Bunnie first ran away from home when Bo told her about how her parents died. Fighting for the Overlanders against the Acorns during the Great War. This actually revels a lot about Bunnie as a character. 

First her tendency to just run away from her problems is yet again reinforced. 

Second it explains why she was living by herself back in issue 3. 

And last off it kind of explains her reason for dreaming to be Sally’s hairdresser specifically and why she’s so loyal to the Acorns despite being raised otherwise. She’s ashamed of her family’s past and wants to at least distance herself from it. 

Which is why not having her and Antoine present during the Prower’s uprising was such a missed opportunity. Does she fully agree with her husband on the Acorn's rule or is she able to see the other side’s point of view given where she grew up? 

Also while the dynamic between The Baron and Antoine could be potentially interesting, both caring for the same woman but being on opposite sides of a conflict,  I’m more interested in where Bunnie stands. We don’t ever really her thoughts on the matter. She dismisses the argument here and we never get back to it, which is a shame. 

Regardless though, Beauregard proves to be one of the most interesting and complex parental figures with in the comic. He’s not abusive nor manipulative, like Max, Locke, or Rosemary. Neither is he the wise heroic father figure like Jules, Armand, and Wynmacher. He’s flawed. He’s fighting on “the wrong side”. He has his prejudices and his fair share of mistakes. But he’s also kind, caring, considerate, and is at least trying to do what is right by those he protects.   

I would have love to see where this character progressed as the comic went along but sadly the reboot and Penders stole him from us. 

Anyways Bunnie agrees to help out her uncle and this leads back into the fight we saw at the beginning of the story. 

Which nartually ends in a cliffhanger. 

The back up story introduces Vanilla and Cream though, so they’re now officially in the comic. 

[plumedesimili]

Ingredients - Time Marches On

Challenge : Time Marches On ( #KH3MarchOn from Twitter) Word count : 930 Warning : KH3 Spoilers

“Are you sure this is the best place, Kairi?”

“Of course, Riku!” She beamed at him. “This is a good spot to find some ingredients. You should know that!”

“It’s just… There’s so many people…”

“Oh, come on! Follow me!”

There was a huge market in Destiny’s Island once a week for the whole summer, and this was indeed the best place to buy the most exotic ingredients. Sellers came from everywhere, and now that both Kairi and Riku had visited different worlds, they suspected some of them might not just be coming from a ‘country far away’ as they always assumed. Fruits, vegetables, spices, every single one of your sense was almost blinded by the huge variety of products that looked amazing, smelled even better, and when you were allowed to taste some of them, it exploded in your mouth, being the best thing you ever had.

However, for once, Kairi wasn’t here for products from far away lands, whether they were these exquisite apples (that came from Radiant Garden’s orchards, she was now sure of is) or these juicy watermelons (tasting suspiciously like those in Port Royal) ; she was here for local products.

They spent the whole afternoon picking, weighing, scrutinizing every product on Kairi’s list until she was finally happy.

“Let’s run to the gummi now!” she cheered, and Riku quickly hushed her, worried about the world order that, as a Master, he now really had to respect. But it was hard not to smile when she was that excited and he let go, taking her to the ship that was hidden in a deserted part of the island. He was still glad the camo shields worked so well or they still might get in trouble.

“Can I drive?”

“Of course you can’t.” She pouted before laughing, mumbling a At least I tried. “Now buckle your belt, and we’re off!”

Teleportation was another great feature on the ship. Riku had heard Sora telling how it didn’t have it when he first used it, and how long the trips were back then - but now, in barely five minutes, you could leave your world and reach another one.

Twilight Town really was a nice world, and Riku liked coming here - but he was also nervous every time, because that meant the chances of meeting Roxas, and it was clear the teenager still wasn’t too fond of the young Master.

“Okay, Riku, now I need you to gather the whole crew! Find a table where we can all seat, and I’ll join you guys as soon as I can!” She ran away with the grocery bag, and he watched her go with a sigh. She wanted him to get Roxas.

When she reached the bistro, her eyes were sparkling as she greeted Scrooge, who nodded at her.

“Good evenin’, lassie! Why such a hurry?”

“I brought every thing we talked about! Is the Little Chef around?

“Of course he is! Where else would he be?” The tiny little rat appeared, and Kairi smiled at him. “Let’s get to it, then, shall we? Let’s try these new recipes!”

The recipes were her idea. She loved cooking with her parents in Destiny’s Island and she came up with two new recipe she badly wanted to try, and Scrooge had agreed to add them to his menu if they were good enough. The judges of that would be all the youngsters in Twilight Town - all of her friends.

They spent an hour cooking and getting everything ready, before being shooed out of the kitchens - it wasn’t her job to bring the meal to everyone, so she sat among them while the waiters were serving them.

“Kairi, this looks amazing!” Olette said, while Pence was already drooling on his plate, impatient to try it.

“You’re sure you’re the real Little Chef? From now on, you shall be called Cheffe Kairi!” Lea teased, winking at her, and she giggle.

“Come on, it will get cold. Everyone, please try it!”

The menu was composed of two courses that were meant to please young people, or people with a sweet tooth.  One was a hot dog, made with a delicious sauce made with mayonnaise, garlic and paopu fruits. The taste was surprising at first, but the sweetness of the fruit went wonderfully with the caramelized onions. The second course was a dessert inspired by Twilight Town itself, a bright blue cream soda that tasted just like the local sea salt ice creams. The cream on top had a nice vanilla flavour, not too sweet, that perfectly balanced the salt from the drink, and it was sweet, but salty too, and especially really refreshing.

“So… What did you think of it?” Kairi asked once everyone was finished and every plate, every glass was almost clean. She personally enjoyed it, but she was a bit nervous.

“That was amazing, Kairi!” Roxas had some cream on his nose, and with his gigantic smile, he looked so much younger. Xion nodded, and even Isa smiled at her.

“It was very good. Thank you.”

She felt her face heat up as all of her friends complimented it. She kept telling them the Little Chef did most of it, but they wouldn’t hear any of this : she came up with the recipe.

“Well, I guess we’re keeping this special menu, then, aren’t we? Any idea what we should call it?”

She looked at Scrooge and nodded. “That’s an easy one. This menu is the Sora Special.”

And from the bottom of her heart, she hoped that one day, he’d get to taste it.

PSA : This was strongly inspired by @ewepufruit​ KH recipes! please check them out!

[nyctospoilers]

You had mentioned in your Scala ad Caelum ask about the debate of whether the ending scene before the credits was happening literally or figuratively and I'm curious as to what your honest take is on that. I'm convinced it was literally happening for a multitude of reasons but I definitely understand those in the "it's symbolic" camp for sure. It's so intentionally vague though, I don't think there's a 100% right answer.

The weird fucking thing with Nomura and some of the cinematic scenes he does is that even if they start off being figurative, they tend to end up literal in the end LOL. Like Deep Dive was supposed to just show off possible ideas for future KH, and now look at it, it’s literally a scene in KH2 and Days haha! So far the only cinematic scene I can think of that never actually happened was the BbS trio pulling Sora, Riku, and Mickey’s keyblades in vanilla KH2′s secret ending.

Nomura does have a better grasp on KH’s future though then he did at the time of KH1 and KH2′s secret endings, so maybe he won’t change his mind this time around.

I think, it’s a weird mixture of both. I think at one point, Sora does fade away while talking to Kairi, maybe it’s just in a different setting right after he saves her. Perhaps it’s like 0.2′s opening of Sora grabbing Aqua’s hand and him actually doing it in KH3. They’re similar shots of course, but one is more abstract, not happening in a particular area (and it’s KH2 sora) while the other is literally happening IN the realm of darkness. So perhaps there will be a time in KH3′s DLC or the next KH game overall that Sora and Kairi are talking, and Sora literally fades away this time.

And another idea that struck me a couple days ago (though i have NO hard evidence for this so take this with a grain of salt, just throwing the idea out there) is that perhaps if Kairi actually did die, and her heart went the Final World, which is a place Sora can actually go to on his own without dying as we know from KH3, it’s possible he went there to retrieve her. But maybe he could only do it if he switched places (a life for a life), or maybe he did abuse the power of waking like Young Xehanort warned him against and his fading is his punishment, idk! But that is a possibility if that scene is more abstract and not as literal.

But in all honesty my mind is completely open for other possibilities, so if you have a post or want to make a post on why you think it’s literally happening i would LOVE to read it!!